"Ow, ow, hot!"
Sonic yelped in pain as he slid a tray of cookies that he had taken out of the oven onto a towel on the counter. He waved his hand back and forth rapidly, then sighed in relief, closing the oven.
I always forget that my gloves aren't heat-resistant...
He picked up one of the cookies, then did a quick taste test. "Hm..."
...Yes! Perfect! And it only took twenty-three tries!
He chuckled awkwardly to himself, knowing that wasn't anything special, then began to clean up.
Today was actually a very special day for him. He and Knuckles had been living in the same house for a long time since the latter didn't have a home of his own, and Sonic had grown extremely fond of him, to the point where it became a crush.
He swore to himself; today, he'd do it. He give Knuckles his homemade cookies, which were Knuckles' favorite kind, of course, then he'd ease him into the topic and just confess. Even if he said 'no', they could still be friends, right? So, he had nothing to worry about.
Soon enough, Knuckles came walking through the door.
"Hey, Sonic!" he greeted. He sniffed the air. "Mmmm, do I smell cookies?"
"Knux!" Sonic dashed out into the living room excitedly. "Hey, bud! Where've ya been?" he asked. "Your day go okay?"
"It went great!" Knuckles replied with a grin. "I've got some exciting news too!"
"Oh yeah?" Sonic asked, now a bit curious. He placed his hands behind his back and smiled. "What's up?"
"I have a girlfriend!" Knuckles announced excitedly.
Suddenly, Sonic's world came crashing down. His entire plan... ruined by just one sentence.
"...Oh."
His shoulders slumped. Of course. Who was he trying to kid? What would be the odds of Knuckles preferring guys anyway? He was probably straight as a board. Even if he wasn't, what were the odds that he'd like him back?
"That's... great, Knux!" he exclaimed. "Here, we'll celebrate!"
He sped back out to the kitchen, then returned with a jar full of cookies. "Eheh... I told Cream what your favorite kind was, and she was just so insistent about makin' a bunch of 'em!"
He smiled to hide his broken heart.
"Awesome!" Knuckles replied. "This day just keeps getting better and better!"
"Hehe, yeah, lucky you!" Sonic cheered. Yeah... he looks so happy.
He widened his smile, handing the jar over to Knuckles.
So, why do I feel so terrible?
Days passed, and Sonic's heartache became a regular thing, though he liked to think he'd gotten used to it. It was a dull pain when he was alone, but increased tenfold whenever Knuckles returned home. He felt bad for suddenly hating the fact that they lived in the same house together, but deep down, he knew he needed Knuckles, whether his feelings were returned or not.
So, he tried to be happy for him. If Knuckles was happy, so was he.
Knuckles' happiness; that was all he wanted... or at least, he tried to convince him that it was.
He laid back on the couch, flipping through the channels and being slightly bored. Wasn't Knuckles usually back by 4 PM?
Probably spending time with his girlfriend, Sonic thought to himself, staring at the clock that was now on roughly 8 PM.
Eventually, Knuckles finally came back home.
"Oh, hi Sonic!" he greeted. "Sorry about that. I uh, I lost track of the time," he explained sheepishly.
"Oh, hey, Knux," Sonic greeted back, though not sounding as cheery as he tried to be.
"Don't worry, it's cool; not like ya gotta be home at a certain time or anything," he assured.
"R-right..." Knuckles replied. He yawned. "Well, it's getting late. I'm gonna turn in... if that's okay with you."
"Huh?" Sonic looked back up at the clock, wondering if he'd read it wrong.
...Late?
"Uh... y-yeah, sure..." he said. "G'night."
"G'night!" Knuckles called as he went up the stairs.
Sonic frowned. That was weird...
More days passed, and Knuckles' personality seemed to steadily shift. He became less happy and a little more anxious. Sonic noticed, but didn't have the guts to mention it.
One day, the two had just finished dinner (it was one of the rare occasions where Knuckles came home early enough for them to do so), and Sonic went over to the sink to wash the dishes.
"So, how'd the date go?" he asked.
"Hm?" Knuckles seemed to have spaced out for a moment. "Oh, yeah. It went good."
"Hm? You're a little distracted, bud." He smiled weakly. "Must've been a real great time."
"Y-yeah," Knuckles replied. He stood up and went over to Sonic. "Hey, uh... anything you want me to help with there?"
Sonic looked up at him and shook his head. "Don't think so."
He paused, staring at the small hose on the side of the sink, then chuckled, pulling it out and spraying Knuckles in the face with it. "Heh, gotcha!"
"H-hey!" Knuckles exclaimed.
However, to Sonic's shock, the water had revealed a red mark on Knuckles' cheek, which appeared to have been covered by make-up before.
Sonic's eyes widened in surprise. "K-Knux..." He got closer and examined the mark. It looked like...
"Did... did some slap you or somethin'?" he asked, looking at Knuckles in worry.
"It's nothing!" Knuckles quickly replied, turning his gaze away from Sonic.
Sonic was shocked that Knuckles would turn away and reject him like that.
"Then why'd ya hide it?"
"I-it's nothing!" Knuckles stammered again. "I, uh, I'm tired." He faked a yawn. "I'm gonna go to bed. G'night!"
Before Sonic could say anything more, Knuckles had already fled up the stairs.
"Ah, Knuckles—!" Sonic sighed. Why wouldn't Knuckles talk to him?
Days continued to pass, and Knuckles became more distant with the hedgehog. They didn't talk as easily and ran out of conversation topics quickly. Needless to say, Sonic was worried.
On one of the rare nights that Knuckles came home at a decent time, the two decided to watch a movie. Out of the blue, Sonic turned to Knuckles and suddenly asked, "So, what's your girlfriend like? You don't really talk about her much, but I guess she must be nice, huh?"
He figured he must've been pretty masochistic to ask.
"Oh, uh, y-yeah," Knuckles replied. "She's...she's great."
I dunno what I was expecting...
"Yeah? Maybe I could meet 'er sometime then!" Sonic exclaimed. "Then we could all hang out together."
He knew he'd be a third wheel, but part of him didn't care. He'd use any excuse to spend more time with Knuckles, even if it meant the heartache of seeing him with that girl...
"Oh, uh... I don't think that can happen," Knuckles said quickly. "She's, um... busy. Yeah, really busy!"
"Oh... er, when won't she be...?" Sonic asked hopefully.
"I... I dunno," Knuckles answered. "Sorry..." he added quietly.
"It's no big deal," Sonic said with a shrug, going back to watching the movie.
Who was he trying to kid? Of course it was a big deal! It would've been as simple as Knuckles taking him along to a date; he'd say a quick 'hi', introduce himself, then leave. Why wouldn't Knuckles want him to meet his girlfriend?
Is Knuckles... ashamed of me?
He clutched his chest, averting his gaze from the echidna. He'd never felt more self-conscious in his life...
Time passed, and every attempt by Sonic to get Knuckles to talk more about his girlfriend went nowhere. Sonic couldn't understand. What had he done wrong? Did... did Knuckles know about his crush? Was he embarrassed by him? He didn't know.
One day, it was late, and Sonic was lying in bed. He wasn't particularly tired, but it was probably due to the fact that Knuckles hadn't come home yet. Sonic tried multiple times to call his communicator, but there was never an answer.
Once he heard the front door open, he shot up like a bullet and charged out into the living room, only to be met with a shocking sight.
There wasn't a lot of blood, but Knuckles was wounded. Not heavily, but there were definitely injuries around his body. He seemed surprised to see Sonic still up.
Sonic sped up to him, quickly taking his hand and leading him to the bathroom. "Geez, Knux, what happened...?"
"I, uh... I fell," Knuckles replied.
"'Fell'? Really?" Sonic asked doubtfully, knowing how durable Knuckles could be. He sat his friend down on the bathroom floor, then got out some medical supplies and began to help him heal and cover his wounds.
"What, did you fall down like, fifty flights of stairs or somethin'?"
"Y-yeah." Knuckles' mind seemed to be somewhere else as he answered.
Sonic didn't have the strength to argue. What'd be the point? Knuckles wouldn't talk to him anyway.
He finished bandaging his wounds, then got up. "There. Just... be more careful next time, okay?" he asked. Without waiting for Knuckles to reply, he left the room, heading up to his bedroom and laying down.
Knuckles went to his own room as well, sighing as he laid down on his bed.
Please don't believe me...
Sonic hoped more than anything that things would get better, but a week past and nothing changed. Knuckles didn't even come home on some days, opting to sleep over at his girlfriend's house. Sonic felt horrible for not wanting him to; it was his life after all, but... he just wanted the echidna for himself, as selfish as it may've seemed.
At least it made his decision all the easier.
"Ready to play, Knux?" Sonic asked on a day where Knuckles had actually come home. A game system sat in front of the TV. "Just like old times, huh?" He managed a weak smile as he offered his friend a controller.
Knuckles also managed a weak smile. "Yeah... like old times..."
Once the two started the game, Sonic instantly noticed that something was wrong. Knuckles wasn't playing at his best, almost as if he was... letting Sonic win?
"C'mon, Knux. Where's your A-game?" he asked, hardly having to focus to remain the echidna's equal in the game.
"Hm?" Knuckles seemed distracted again.
"I know I usually win at these, but you're not even puttin' up a fight..." Sonic wondered if maybe Knuckles was sick of playing with him as well.
"O-oh, uh, sorry..." Knuckles replied. "L-let's try again, shall we? ...I-if that's okay, of c-course."
"Yeah, sure." Sonic restarted the game to give Knuckles another chance.
...There was really no easy way to bring it up, was there?
"So, heh, you'll have room here for your girlfriend in a while if she ever wants to come over," he said.
"Huh?" Knuckles looked at him, clearly confused. "What do you mean?"
Sonic mentally sighed. "...I'm movin' out. You'll have the place to yourself."
He said it as if he was just telling him what the weather was like, but his heart was aching to no end on the inside.
Knuckles nearly dropped the controller. "What?! Wh...why?"
Sonic knew he couldn't tell him the main reason, but he gathered as much of his composure as he could. Knuckles deserved an honest response, but he couldn't give it.
"I... well, you and her are so close, and I found this really nice place a little bit away from here." It was actually extremely far away, but he wouldn't dare say that. "I figured I'd do ya a favor."
"'Favor'?" Knuckles couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Sonic, you don't need to move out!"
Please don't go!
Sonic paused the game, then stood up, looking away from him. "...I gotta. Let's face it, Knux; y'don't need to be livin' with a guy when you've got a perfectly good girlfriend. We can't live together forever."
He rubbed his head slightly, then headed for the front door. "I...I'm goin' out for a run. See ya later, probably."
He quickly sped out the door, wanting to be as far away from his house as possible. He didn't want to leave Knuckles; absolutely not. But, what else was he supposed to do?
His feelings started to build up, and he slowed to a walk, making it into a small cave and sitting down.
He cried for the first time in years.
"Sonic..." Knuckles sighed.
Please don't leave me here alone...
He went into Sonic's room. He'd always been able to go there and talk to him when he was feeling down. He hoped maybe spending some time here would help him feel better.
Then, he noticed something: a cookbook resting on Sonic's nightstand. Curiously, he opened it to a page that was bookmarked. Even though he couldn't read, he could tell that Sonic had scribbled out various things and written something else above or next to them. He looked at the picture of what the recipe was for.
Wait...is this...?
It was a recipe for cookies; his favorite kind of cookies.
Meanwhile, back with Sonic, the hedgehog managed to calm himself down enough to sort out his thoughts. He wanted so badly to tell Knuckles how he felt, but he'd only be rejected. He was suspicious of his girlfriend, but Sonic figured that was only the fear of losing his crush, which he was about to do himself anyway.
I...I'm sorry, Knuckles.
He didn't return to the house.
Knuckles hadn't been able to sleep that night. He kept being woken up by horrible nightmares, and the confused thoughts that were still going through his mind.
Sonic made those cookies? For me? Knuckles was flattered, but also confused. But why? And more importantly...why did he lie about it?
He looked up at the clock. Uh oh. He was late for his date with his girlfriend!
He scrambled out of bed and rushed out the door.
Sonic walked out of the cave groggily. He was exhausted, obviously having not had very good sleep in the cave.
I guess I'll run into town and grab a chili dog. That always helps.
He knew that this would be one time where it wouldn't help, but he just had to do something to get his mind off of Knuckles.
Fate seemed to have other ideas though, as he saw Knuckles on the street with someone the second he entered the town. He dashed into a dark alley and peeked out, seeing that the place was mostly clear around the two.
Is that... his girlfriend? he wondered. She was certainly attractive; he inwardly heckled himself for daring to think he could meet Knuckles' standards.
...Geez, when did I become so self-destructive?
"You're late! I told you to meet me here at nine o' clock sharp, didn't I?" the girl asked loudly, jabbing a finger at Knuckles' chest.
"I-I'm sorry..." Knuckles whimpered, trembling.
"'Sorry' isn't good enough! Do you know how dumb I looked standing here for the last two minutes!?"
A resounding slapping sound rang loudly in Sonic's ears, making him flinch.
"How could you be so stupid and forgetful!? I swear, if you're late for one more date, I'll—"
A sudden blur of blue sped out from the alley, and in milliseconds, Sonic stood between the two, glaring up at Knuckles' girlfriend.
Knuckles' face stung, and tears came to his eyes. Then, he saw Sonic standing in front of him.
"Wha—Sonic, what are you doing here?"
Sonic didn't answer, his cold gaze locked onto the apparent object of Knuckles' affections.
The girl giggled, bending down to Sonic's level. "Oh, so this is the hero 'Sonic', huh?" She attempted to move past him and went over to Knuckles, reaching out to touch the echidna's shoulder. "Sorry, but Knuckles and I were just—"
Sonic sped in front of her again, his hand moving up to furiously push away her hand. "Don't touch him," he hissed.
"Why not? I don't hear him complaining, do you?" she asked.
Sonic scowled. It all made sense now. This girl wasn't nice in the slightest. All the injuries Knuckles got came from her; she abused him and his kindness.
"...You don't get it," he muttered.
"Excuse me?" the girl asked with a huff, crossing her arms.
Sonic took a step towards her, making her take a step back. "You don't get how lucky you are, do you!? Knuckles is an amazing guy, and you should be proud to have him, but you're not!"
He took more steps towards her, making her step back further. "You've been using him to get what you want and beating into his mind that he needs you to make sure he stays, haven't you!? It's obviously not for any other reason, 'cause you'd treat him with more respect if you had even half a heart; the respect he deserves!"
She was against the wall at this point, a furious Sonic inches away from her. "You're lucky; so lucky, to have a guy as brave, kind, and gentle as him for a boyfriend, but I'll bet you anything that you haven't told him you love him once. I bet you don't know that his favorite color is blue and that he loves nature because he grew up in it! You probably don't know that he plays the piano like a master musician or that he can speak an entirely different language! Heck, even though you should, you probably don't even know that he's the sweetest guy at heart and just wants some love, hugs, and attention!"
The girl winced as Sonic pulled her down to his level, his voice getting low. "But you wouldn't know that, would you, because you don't care." Even if the whole world was watching him in that moment, it didn't matter to him; he was far too angry to control himself. "If you harm so much as one strand of fur on him from here on out, you'll have a lot more to worry about than someone being late for one of your stupid dates."
He released her, and she looked extremely nervous.
...But only for a moment. Suddenly, she perked right back up, which only caused Sonic to become more furious.
She chuckled. "'Respect'? Who else do you think would date this big moron, huh? Who'd give him more respect than what I already give him—oh, sorry; more of the 'respect he deserves'?"
Sonic couldn't control his mouth at this point. He lashed out and placed a hand on his chest.
"I would! I love him more than you ever could, and you know it!"
He was breathing heavy from being so frustrated, but suddenly, he stopped, the last thing he said finally registering in his mind. He looked around, noticing that a small crowd had formed, and were staring him down.
His heart started racing. He blew it. He blew it. He just wanted to defend Knuckles, but now, he just confessed everything...
He gritted his teeth, then took off in a burst of speed, getting away from the scene as quickly as possible.
"S-Sonic, wait!" Knuckles shouted, running after him best he could. He was still horribly shaken and on the verge of tears, but now he was also shocked and very, very flustered.
He...he loves me?
"Hold it!" His girlfriend yelled, grabbing his hand and pulling him back. "What do you think you're doing!? You leave me waiting here for you, and then you expect me to just keep waiting while you go off and chase that short blue rat!?"
Knuckles' face turned red in fury.
"Don't you dare talk about him like that!" he snapped back, surprising her. "He's the nicest and coolest guy ever, and he actually appreciates me!"
He felt a surge of newfound strength, all thanks to Sonic.
"And you can stop waiting for me, 'cause I'm never coming back!"
He smiled; his first real smile in what seemed like forever. "There's someone else waiting for me now; someone that loves me. And I love him."
And with that, he started running again, in the direction that Sonic had gone.
Eventually, Knuckles found himself back at his and Sonic's house. Sonic was laying on the bed in his bedroom, curled up in his spindash form with his blanket completely covering him.
Why did I come back here? Knuckles is gonna find me for sure, and it'll be all over...
He didn't know the answer. Maybe he just felt comfortable at home, knowing that the house belonged to Knuckles as well.
Knuckles cautiously approached the bed.
"Sonic?" he said gently.
The blue ball of fur twitched, but didn't move beyond that.
Sonic's heart was pounding nervously. What was he gonna say?
Knuckles carefully sat down on the bed beside Sonic. "Hey, um... thanks, by the way."
There was a small silence, and Sonic poked his head out of the blanket, though not keeping eye contact with Knuckles. "Eheh. It's... no problem. Glad I could help."
Knuckles smiled softly. "You saved me back there. I...I was always too scared to stand up to her. But thanks to you... I finally got the courage to leave her. I...I can't thank you enough, Sonic. If you hadn't defended me like that, I'd still be stuck in a real-life nightmare!"
He sighed, turning his head away sadly. "I'm sorry I kept lying to you like that. I-I was too scared to say anything... a-and I didn't want you to get hurt or something, so..."
"Knuckles!" Sonic said, throwing aside his self-consciousness as he quickly reached up and took hold of Knuckles' shoulders. "...You could've come to me at any time. I wouldn't've cared what it was about."
"I-I was just so scared..." Knuckles replied, tears coming to his eyes. "I-if she'd found out I told you..." He visibly shuddered just thinking about it. "I guess I thought I was protecting you from her."
Sonic couldn't help himself from hugging Knuckles tight. "Nothing would've happened, but... I get why you were scared."
He sighed, releasing his crush and sitting back down on the bed. "I was scared too... that day you told me you had a girlfriend, I was gonna tell you how I felt, but..." His voice trailed off as he placed a hand to his chest.
"Was that why you made those cookies?" Knuckles asked gently.
Sonic's ears perked. He... figured it out?
"...Yeah," he muttered softly, lowering his gaze.
Knuckles blushed and chuckled sadly.
"I'm sorry, Sonic," he said. "You know... you know why I got a girlfriend in the first place?"
Sonic saddened, not sure if he wanted to hear the answer. "Why?"
"Because... I love someone else... but I thought he wouldn't ever like me back, so I tried dating that girl to get over it..." His face flushed even more as he admitted this.
He sighed. "But I guess that was a really stupid idea. Especially since it turns out that he does love me after all."
Sonic blinked, his eyes widening slightly as the pieces of the puzzle clicked together. "A-ah... you don't mean me, do you?" he asked, clearly nervous about asking the question, but his voice brimming with hope.
Knuckles smiled sheepishly. "Y-yeah, I mean you."
Sonic's eyes lit up, a big smile on his face. He went to hug Knuckles, but stopped, blushing and sheepishly rubbing his arm. "H-heh... man, I feel so dumb. All that confidence I had just left and I thought you'd hate me if you knew or something."
"Why would I hate you?" Knuckles asked in surprise. "Even if I didn't love you back, I'd still want to be your friend."
Sonic laughed weakly. "I know that now, but..." He shifted positions, moving himself onto Knuckles' lap. "At the time, you told me you had a girlfriend and it almost felt like a rejection. I felt stupid, y'know?" He sighed. "That's why I wanted to move out; you were spendin' so much time with her that I figured I was just gettin' in the way."
"I'm sorry I made you feel that way," Knuckles replied sadly. "But every time I came home and said everything was going great and I was fine... inside, I was screaming for help. I really hoped you wouldn't believe what I was saying..."
"...I guess part of me knew in a way," Sonic muttered. "But another part was so convinced that you were happy."
He sighed. "I'm sorry too."
Knuckles smiled warmly. "It's okay. What matters is that that's all over now, right?"
Sonic nodded. "Yeah."
He paused, then suddenly perked up. "So, you broke up with that girl then?"
He could already tell by the look on Knuckles' face. "Heh, I knew ya had it in you!" he exclaimed, holding his hand up for a high-five.
Knuckles visibly flinched, fear evident in his eyes.
Sonic let out a small sound of surprise, but stared at his raised hand and quickly realized. "O-oh, Knux..."
He got up on his knees, then held Knuckles close. "Sorry. I wasn't gonna slap you. It was just a high-five," he said as softly as he could. "I'd never try to hurt you..."
Knuckles sniffled, tears forming in his eyes. "Sh-she was so mean, S-Sonic..."
Sonic's gaze sharpened. "I know... and I promise, I won't let her hurt you ever again."
Tears spilled down Knuckles' cheeks. He'd been trying to hide his emotions for so long...
"Th-thanks, Sonic," Knuckles said as sobs became to overtake him.
Sonic smiled softly, lightly running his hand across Knuckles' fur in hopes of relaxing him. "No need to thank me, Knux." He blushed. "We're together now after all, aren't we? Boyfriend and boyfriend?"
Knuckles smiled through his tears. "Forever and ever, I hope."
Sonic nuzzled him, enjoying the feeling of Knuckles' fur against his. "I hope so too."
"Hey, uh, Sonic?" Knuckles began nervously. "I, um... c-could I... sleep with you tonight?" His face flushed. "I-I've been having nightmares, and... I just don't wanna be alone."
"Hm?" Sonic pulled away slightly, then laughed, flopping over onto the other side of the bed. "Do you really have to ask? Of course ya can!" he exclaimed, though expecting to be assaulted by a Knuckles hug for saying that.
Sure enough, Knuckles gave him a big bear hug. "Thanks, Sonic. You're the best!"
Sonic smiled. His hug was extremely strong and almost made it hard to breathe, but he didn't mind. "Thanks, love."
He blushed suddenly, averting his gaze. "I, uh, didn't just call you that, did I?"
Knuckles blushed hard, then giggled lightly.
"I...I don't mind," he said quietly.
"Ehehe…" Sonic flushed further, then shyly touched his nose to Knuckles', giving him an eskimo kiss. He clearly enjoyed their closeness.
Knuckles giggled even more at this. He smiled, almost crying again.
"You're so nice to me. I dunno what I'd do without you."
"I dunno," Sonic muttered. "A Knuckles-less world seems just as sad to me."
Knuckles blushed even more. "A-ah, st-stop it!" He covered his face with his hands in embarrassment, but still smiled.
Sonic laughed. "C'mon, it's true!" He gently grabbed hold of Knuckles' hands with his own and pulled them away from the echidna's face, giving him a soft smile as he intertwined their fingers.
Knuckles' cheeks were turning even redder than the rest of him as he smiled. Sonic enjoyed seeing him so flustered.
"...Oh! Uh, Knux?"
"Yeah?" Knuckles answered. "What is it, Sonic?"
Sonic suddenly kissed him, his face turning just as red.
Knuckles felt butterflies in his stomach as he was kissed. He kissed back, tearing up slightly from the overwhelming amount of love that Sonic was showing him. It made him feel very special.
Sonic felt butterflies too as Knuckles kissed back; he had hoped that he wasn't being too forward by kissing him, and it didn't seem like he was. He reached up to Knuckles' face, then slowly wiped his boyfriend's tears away as they continued to kiss.
Knuckles wrapped his arms around Sonic in a hug as they kissed. His heart had felt so heavy just earlier that day; now it felt light as a feather.
Sonic let out a soft squeak of surprise at Knuckles keeping the kiss going. Now he was the one who was overwhelmed.
He was about to pull away and tell Knuckles that they should probably get something to eat, but his emotions took over and he suddenly stopped caring about such matters.
They could probably stay for a little longer... or a lot. Whenever they snapped out of this little trance of theirs.
